Rape cases hit four-year high
Monday 15th February 2010, 2:59PM GMT.
Head of Victim Support Hazel Jury
THE number of rape allegations investigated by the States Police hit a four-year high last year.
There were 15 rapes reported in 2009, including the violent rape of a 19-year-old woman at knifepoint as she walked home through town in October.
But just four of the reported rapes have so far resulted in prosecutions. Suspects were identified in seven of the cases, but there was insufficient evidence to bring charges. A further four rape claims are still being investigated.
Some of last year’s cases related to historic offences reported years after the crimes were committed. In 2008 the police investigated 12 cases of alleged rape, with 14 reported in 2007 and 11 in 2006.
Head of Victim Support Hazel Jury said that as many as 50 per cent of rape victims did not go to the police.
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I notice poor conviction rates are always highlighted with rape cases. I’m hoping this will always be the case – we live in a world where people are innocent until proven guilty. The problem with sexual assaults is that it’s often one word against another, and that not’s enough evidence to send somebody to prison
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The Minister of Home Affairs, Senator Ian le Marquand, has been reported in this paper (13 February 2010) as saying that “the proposed law conferring search powers and punishments for carrying bladed and pointed items was not a high priority for his department and was being cut from their plans for 2010.
That being the case, may we assume that the Minister will NOT take the same airy, laissez-faire, stance on rape as he has on knife crime and other crimes against the person?
Or is that too much to expect from the Minister in charge of public safety?
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Behaviour in this place now disgusting…the police claiming they are too busy to do the job….I believe they are starving the streets of beat policemen to support their empire building argument just so they can hire on more when per capita we have enough,we see throiugh you,just get your act together please.
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Well said my friend! I see these kind of statistics in low brow papers like The Sun all the time, expected better from the good old JEP.
Has it occurred to anyone that there were only four convictions in the island because there were only four rapes? (Perhaps that is a little naive).
For better or for worse we are committed to a system which puts the burden of proof on the prosecution. In these cases it is often one person’s word against another’s. This does not mean however that we can relax the standard of proof, if only to protect people who have genuinely been assaulted from being automatically treated with suspicion.
Someone very close to me was once accused of raping a woman at a party, simply because she wanted to give her boyfriend a plausible reason for sleeping with another man. Something similar happened in the hotel where I work last month. Luckily in the first instance I was eventually able to persuade the girl to tell the truth and in the second instance the girl’s account of events was shown to be false through CCTV footage.
In all three instances the women in question were not prosecuted for wasting Police time or attempting to pervert the course of justice. If a low conviction rate for rapes is supposed to send out a message to rapists that it’s acceptable for them to carry on with their crimes, what does this say for a zero conviction rate for those who try to undermine our justice system for genuine victims?
V.
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Is it too much to ask of the Toy Town honorary police to stand less on its honour and to do a little more REAL policing?
In the real world, if an organisation is ineffective and not paying for itself in terms of tangible results questions are asked and people are fired.
All the “honorary” police are good for is strategically placing their yellow jackets on the parcel shelves of their cars with the all-important badge showing.
If they were faced with an illegally parked car, let alone a case of rape or a stabbing, most “honorary” policemen would involuntarily soil their clothing.
But that’s “the Jersey way”, isn’t it?
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#5 Udupi, honoraries get called out to domestic violence incidents, as well as road traffic accidents, fights etc.
#1 Darren, well said from me also. I supported a friend through a rape accusation, it barely matters that the girl eventually admitted to making it all up.
It is possible to limit your risk of being raped or of being falsely accused of rape.
Men need to understand that there are sick women out there who will cry rape. For revenge? To protect themselves? Who knows, self-preservation is a strong motivator.
Women need to understand that it’s not okay to tease and tease and tease a man if there is no intent there. Then there’s what she’s wearing, who she’s with, keeping an eye on her drink, going off alone with men… women know that these things are not an invitation for rape but I question their common sense if they expect a rapist to have the same opinion.
Just because there is no excuse for rape doesn’t mean that women should fail to limit the risks, no-one else can limit the risks for you. I’d rather avoid rape altogether than have a successful conviction! And limiting the risks also makes a conviction more likely if you do suffer an attack.
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@V, You contradict yourself. You ask people to assume that it’s likely that all who are guilty are charged and then remind people that the burden of proof is on the prosecution.
What you describe as “Luckily in the first instance I was eventually able to persuade the girl to tell the truth” sounds like witness tampering. Your claims about women who falsely reported rape are allegations which need to be evaluated using the same standards that you demand for allegations of rape. Since none of those you accuse were charged they must be viewed in the same way as men accused of rape but who were not charged.
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Udupi#5
What on earth is your problem. Was your mother frightened by an honorary policeman while she was pregnant with you ?
What other than an extremely personal, traumatic event such as this could result in the insulting, unsubstantiated vilification of an organisation whose activities you are so obviously ignorant about.
If by “REAL policing” you mean Hands on nicking violent drunks, the Jersey Honorary police do conduct patrols and can be seen regularly at 3am or later alongside their colleagues the SOJP dealing with front line public order policing in St Helier and the parishes at the weekend.
But all activities of the Honorary police do not begin and end there.
The Honorary police recruit from all walks of Jersey life, from the ages of 21 to 70,from hulking young musclemen to slightly built older ladies, there is even a place in the Honorary Police for the disabled.
The type of duties the individual does is decided after a risk assessment, one (except Udupi it appears)would not expect a 65 year old retired lady to patrol the streets after midnight looking for rapists. That’s left to the younger fitter officers, she can assist at Parish Hall Enquiries.
The duties of the Honorary police are a wide spectrum,
Front line policing,
Parking control,
Speed detection,
Traffic directing,
Who do you think directs the traffic at well attended funerals.
There were thousands of hours supplied by the honorary police at HDlaG to guard and prevent contamination of the site.
The honorary police even have plans on how to man the hospital and protect its staff and activities in a major emergency.
Just about every large public event in Jersey is policed by honories. A snippet of info, at last years Jersey live there were 2 public order arrests, both were by honorary policemen !
Parish hall enquiries,
Attending at the rouge bullion police station to evaluate evidence and decide whether to charge an alleged offender or not.
Prosecuting 90% of cases at the magistrates court.
Who do you think checks on court issued curfews and makes sure early released prisoners are keeping to the terms of their licence ?
The list is endless, all you need to do is think where a police officer may be required, and there is a good chance an honorary policeman somewhere is qualified to do it.
And qualified they are, the honorary police are trained to a high standard, the SoJP train them in the fundamentals of policing. The Honory Police Association any other training needed
Udupi, I am sure there would even be a place even for you in the honorary police, should you ever wish to serve your community, you would have to drop the bigot bit though.
AND ALL THIS THEY DO FOR “NOTHING” EXEPT LOVE OF THEIR COMMUNITY.
How much would your taxes and rates increase, Udupi, were it not for what you insultingly call “Toy Town honorary police”
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Very few women make up the fact that they were raped – just like very few people make up the fact that they were assaulted or burgled.
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#9 Of course it’s very few (relatively) but the fact that it happens at all is cause for concern. False accusations don’t just hurt the men they can lead to less support being given to real victims.
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Gods Mentor.
No you’re totally wrong. Making up rape allegations is good fun, the rape exam, the police interview, being blamed if you had a few too many drinks or forgot to wear your burka. And knowing that there isn’t a icecube in hell chance of a conviction so no harm done.
Why what do you do in your spare time?
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Once again, PJG comes out, firing on (nearly) all cylinders, to proclaim the wondrous miracles he ascribes to the Toy Town Police.
Now, what could lead me to think that PJG could be an ‘honorary’ policeman himself?
If I did, I would be wrong because PJG – rather like St Peter – has thrice denied this in an earlier correspondence in these columns last autumn.
So just what IS this person’s reasons for his somewhat fissile behaviour?
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PJG demands of Udupi:
“How much would your taxes and rates increase, Udupi, were it not for what you insultingly call ‘Toy Town honorary police’”
I am more than convinced that Udupi could answer that question for himself. Nevertheless, if the question was to be directed at me, I would respond that my taxes and rates would not increase by a single farthing.
All the money spent on maintaining these anachronistic and time-expired sodalities of wannabe plods, and social and political climbers would be far, far better devoted to extending the services of the professional States of Jersey Police Force and investing in its future.
The acting Chief Officer is reported as saying that there are insufficient funds at his disposal to recruit and train enough officers to maintain SoJP’s nominal strength.
Regular, professional police officers in the Metropolitan Police, up to the age of chief inspector, must retire on reaching the age of 60 years. Officers above that rank cannot remain at work beyond their 65th birthdays. In practice, as we know, they leave well before those ages.
The thought of a Jersey parish being policed by a self-important Plod approaching senility (PJG’s 70-year old woman) is, quite frankly, both horrifying and pitiful. Noble as her motives may be, it is about time she went home to take care of her equally senescent husband and left policing to the professionals.
Not a single other jurisdiction in the British Isles (other than Guernsey, perhaps) employs such rank amateurs. There are Special Police Officers in many UK forces, but they are an integral part of those police services, and not parallel to them.
No, Udupi is correct in what he (or she) has written: the parish police forces may be part of Jersey’s history, but that is where they should be consigned: to the past.
And PJG’s personal insults do nothing whatsoever to add any credibility to his cause; quite the opposite.
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#12 Udupi, what on earth is all this about? You must have been on the wrong side of the honorary police at some point, and you can’t know any personally if you fail to realise some of the horrible work they have to do.
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Udupi # 12
Once again you hide behind lies. How about some facts to back up your dribble.
Not once, have I ever denied being an honorary policeman.
I have also never claimed to be one.
Perhaps this is too subtle for you to understand ?
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@PJG semantics surely. I have seen on a number of occasions posters suggesting you must be an honorary due to your strong support. To use weasel words to avoid that is something I would have expected of a politician. Why not just be straight and declare, anonomously of course, your interests in the subject ?
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Al#15
I want my opinions to be those of PJG
I do not want the likes of Udupi to attack any organisation I may or may not be associated with due to my sometimes, strong “personal” opinions.
Also I do not want my opinions to be taken as officially those of any such organisations.
I hope this explains my “weasel words”.
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@12 & @15.
Oh come on now you guys, we all know how much work the Honorary Police do for their community. Can you imagine what state Jersey would be in were it not for those brave men and women standing in their stab proof vests and Hi Viz jackets next to the Battle of Flowers floats!!!
And PJG is right, the Honorary`s are always there at major incident exercises, there was one just last month at the Airport and there was at least 6 Honorary’s standing outside the security check point, they weren’t actually allowed Airside for some reason, the so called “Proper Police” were airside but not them, but at least the honorary’s were keeping an eye on the SOJP`s police cars that were parked outside the checkpoint too, AND i saw one of the SOJP officers let an honorary use his radio…. Not sure if he was training him, its just that the honorary seemed to be having problems with it (kept poking himself in the eye with the aerial)! Still, Honorary`s RULE!!!
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What I find most concerning about all this is the ridiculous emphasis placed on avoiding “date rape” drugs. So the main bits of advice they give about avoiding rape all concern never allowing your drink out of sight, keeping the top of your bottle covered, not accepting drink from a stranger etc.
You would think that there were some statistics to support this emphasis on date rape drugs: but no. It’s all made up: Like swine flu (and the nonsense spouted about the Island’s finance industry), hysteria encouraged by well-meaning fools.
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I got stopped by an hounery the other day
How long have you been driving without a brake light?” he asked me
I jumped out and ran to the rear of my car, and gave a long, painful groan.
He seemed so upset that he took pity on me
“Come on, now,” he said, “you don’t have to take it so hard. It isn’t that serious.”
“It isn’t?” said i. “Then you know what happened to my boat and trailer?”
Boom Boom
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I have to say, in my experience, the honorary plod is as elusive as the non-honorary plod……I rarely see either one, day or night.
It has got to the point now where I bet there is absolutely no risk in driving home drunk (unless you have an accident) because there are zero traffic police too!
What is the point of these happy (but mostly sad) speed signs when no-one really takes any notice of them at all. Personally, they just serve to pee me off, looking at another grumpy face whilst quietly driving home!
Perhaps Durrell could be encouraged to take notice before they become extinct!
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#20
#19 There are statistics in the UK although they’re lower than cases reported to charities, presumably because women do not always want to go through the trauma of a trial, or feel they are to blame… I guess that Jersey may not have hard data but simply realise that Jersey behaviour will no doubt follow that of the UK and date rapes will likely increase, in the same way that the UK tends to follow a few years behind the US with ‘newer’ types of crime.
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Surely this is good news in a way? Doesn’t it mean that more victims now feel inclined to report the matter?
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Attending at the rouge bullion police station to evaluate evidence and decide whether to charge an alleged offender or not.
Prosecuting 90% of cases at the magistrates court.
It’s very scarey that people with no qualifications to do so can carry out the roles outlined above. Do they get farmers and fishermen to carry out these roles in any other modenrn society?? I think not.
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Dave #23
Put your mind at rest.
Centeniers receive comprehensive training from the SoJP legal advisors. there is also a system of “on the job training” where a new Centenier shadows a seasoned, experienced colleague before doing this on his own, remember the HP has many centuries of experience to draw from as they are the oldest police force in the world still operating, the HP even predates the papal Swiss guard.
One thing that bothers me is, are you saying farmers and fishermen are impossible to educate ?
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Not in the slighest, and the HP should be commended for alot of the work that they do, but, I find it bizarre that volunteers can play such an important role in our justice system in terms of deciding whether a case should be prosecuted or making a reccomendation as to whether an offender should be kept in custody or released on bail. Surely such important decisions are best left to the experts?
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Dave at 24. i regret to say it, but your rather ignorant comment is wholly incorrect and misleading.
The decision as to whether to prosecute rests with the Attorney General. Yes, the centeniers do charge suspects but whatever they do is subject to review by the AG. If, for example, a centenier lets a matter drop, such an action would be without prejudice to the right of the AG to direct that a prosecution be commenced.
It is, in any event, inconceivable that a centenier would decline to charge where such a serious crime is involved and, if he did, it is certain that the legal advisers and the Attorney General would review the matter. The Attorney General would be in a position to direct that a prosecution is begun and to instigate disciplinary proceedings against any honorary officer who refuses to prosecute where the same is required.
One other thing. Centeniers do not, as you say, prosecute matters before the Magistrate’s court. they merely present the case. There is a considerable difference between the two roles. Where a centenier does present a case, then the magistrate becomes an examining magistrate and will supervise the proceedings far more closely that would be the case if an Advocate prosecutes.
Again, the procedure is open to review by the Attorney General, either as head of the honorary police or as public prosecutor. What the centenier might tell a defendant cannot fetter the prosecution process. There is established case law on the matter.
I hope this helps.
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Clown Advocate#27
My thanks for your clear helpful comments.
And for correcting “my” erroneous use of the word Prosecuting.
I fear I have to correct you,it was me who used this word and misled Dave in my post #8
If I may I use the words of Born Warrior.
To err is human.
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Abyss2hope, I don’t remember saying that all those who are guilty are necessarily charged. However it’s also true to say that not all those who are charged are necessarily guilty.
In the case I mentioned we knew the rape to be a lie and the person in question failed to make a complaint to the Police for that reason. It was several years before I was able to sit down with the girl, have a quiet drink and gently persuade her to tell her (by then) ex boyfriend the truth that she had made it up. It was because of him that she had lied and since he was out of the picture there was little to be gained from maintaining the lie. We were lucky in that the woman’s conscience pricked her into doing the right thing albeit very late in the day, not all men are that fortunate.
Whenever I speak on here about false allegations of this kind I’m always asked to cowtow to the rather abstruse perspective that it’s very difficult for women to come forward when they have been victims of that kind of assault and this is something that men cannot appreciate.
This is no doubt true but it is approaching the problem from the other end. Given that the woman is indeed a victim and the man she has accused is guilty then it is obvious she has been the victim of a great trauma.
However, the article in question does NOT necessarily imply that there are more rapists now then there were four years ago; all we know for certain is that there have been more accusations than there were a few years ago.
For the “no smoke without fire” lobby, I’d ask you to remember that even if every one of these complaints are genuine, this does not necessarily construe an overall rise in this type of crime. Has anyone considered that the Police and Victim Support’s efforts to encourage people to come forward as well as more proactive efforts by nightclubs have resulted in greater detection of an already existing crime? Unfortunately there is no way to know the so-called dark figure of unreported crime.
Abyss2hope seems to feel that I interfered with the process of law in speaking to the woman who made the accusation. Indeed, I would very much have liked to see her arrested for making a false statement to the Police, however we all know how likely this would be to happen.
If this, as you say, is a crime subject to the law as any other, why then should we take the accusation at face value any more than the Police would if I said I saw one of the readers here breaking into my summer house?
Moreover, if in fact it was discovered that my house had not been broken into and that in fact you were nowhere near the place at the time, why should I not be arrested and prosecuted for wasting Police time? What’s sauce for the goose is good for the gander after all.
The only way we’re going to be able to reduce this type of crime overall in my humble opinion is to do as Leah says and look at ways of men and women avoiding potentially risky situations and furthermore, making sure that the punishment for making a false allegation is so severe that it deter anyone from making one.
V.
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Peter (#23)
Thank you. I agree. An increase in the number of rape allegations is not a bad thing at all. Women should be encouraged to come forward if they feel they have been in a situation anywhere close to rape. The fact that tha majority of these cases have not brought a prosecution is not always a bad thing either. This shows that men who are accused have every chance of being found not guilty if that genuinely is the case.
Leah points out that women should not tease tease tease. Sorry Leah, but a woman wearing next to nothing, dancing provocatively in front of me or anything else of that ilk would never give me the right to have sex with her. People have the right to wear whatever they like and should never fear any reprocussions for it.
I would actively encourage anyone who feels they have been in a position like this to take the proper procedures and trust that anyone who is in the position of the accused will have the ability to prove their innocence if that is the case. Without creating this equal balance there is great risk that cases will go unreported or accused will become inocent victims of bullying.
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Leah No. 6 – whether a women teases or not is besides the point. The man has free choice to walk away. The courts are much too soft on rapists, they should be locked up until they can learn to control themselves in a decent mannner.
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#30 & 31 Funny, but I think I made it clear that to right-thinking people what someone wears and how they behave is “beside the point”.
What I’m saying is it’s your life, it’s your body and only you can protect yourself from a rapist, are you seriously going to trust a rapist to think the sensible way that you do? I for one won’t!
I’m not going to out in skimpy clothes unless I am with my partner or a group of very trusted friends who I know won’t abandon me.
While the authorities do need to be tougher on those who commit rape, in the meantime we can all use some common sense and make ourselves a little bit safer… to suggest that we don’t do this is not only naive it’s positively stupid!
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Leah Holmes#32
I agree, in an ideal world we should all be able to leave our houses with the front door open,
Alas there are some lesser forms of life who cannot refuse the temptation to enter.
This IMO is the same as a woman’s choice of clothing, yes she should be able to wear what she likes. But her attempts to look desirable must be tempered with the realisation she could be exiting, beyond self control, a man with problems.
Lots of leg and a cleavage may be fine at the night club.
A long buttoned up coat for the walk home in the dark is sensible.
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